Data from: The evolutionary origins of the cat attractant nepetalactone in catnip

Catnip or catmint (Nepeta spp.) is a flowering plant in the mint family
(Lamiaceae) famed for its ability to attract cats. This phenomenon is
caused by the compound nepetalactone, a volatile iridoid that also repels
insects. Iridoids are present in many Lamiaceae species but were lost in
the ancestor of the Nepetoideae, the subfamily containing Nepeta. Using
comparative genomics, ancestral sequence reconstructions, and phylogenetic
analyses, we probed the re-emergence of iridoid biosynthesis in Nepeta.
The results of these investigations revealed mechanisms for the loss and
subsequent re-evolution of iridoid biosynthesis in the Nepeta lineage. We
present evidence for a chronology of events that led to the formation of
nepetalactone biosynthesis and its metabolic gene cluster. This study
provides insights into the interplay between enzyme and genome evolution
in the origins, loss, and re-emergence of plant chemical diversity.